Can Scrapbooking Really Make You Happy?

Sometimes, it seems I am bombarded from several different directions with a similar message. When this happens, I try to pay attention. A person will mention something to me and the next day, I might get an email, or read something online about the same topic. Within a day or so, once again, someone else mentions another bit of information on the same topic and it all resonates with me. Lately, it seems I am seeing and hearing a lot about how journaling actually increases happiness. One source I came across even said that journaling has shown to increase happiness more than antidepressants…that’s a pretty powerful statement.

Did you know that studies show recalling happy times from the past help increase happiness now? Scrapbooking is a GREAT way to do that! I loved this video by Gretchen Rubin from “The Happiness Project” about making the most of your photos:

No wonder I always feel happy after spending time digital scrapbooking! As I’ve been bombarded with the message that happiness is increased by journaling, I wanted to find some ways for the non-scrapbooking members of my family to do this. I do a lot of journaling through my scrapbooking, but I know I have also loved referring back to my writings for layouts from active periods of journaling in my life. I found a couple of doable ideas I really like and want to try:

A one sentence journal – Gretchen talks about her non-journal, which is a fun idea.

ohlife is free service you can sign up for and they will send you a daily email asking you about your day. You reply to the email and they save it for you, securely, on their site. Be sure to export once in a while, just in case.

Some of these ideas seem super easy and very doable. It just might be worth giving journaling a try and putting it to the happiness test.